Face the show
by Butterfly of blood
Summary: Grissom and Sara investigate a murder where a woman dressed in a yellow, leather bikini is found with a hole in her chest. This leads them to a convention for anime fans where they find devotion, slavery, and deadly jealousy.
1. The body

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

By Butterfly of Blood

I don't own CSI or any of the anime mentioned in the story. I just own the original characters.

This is my first CSI story. So I could use some advice.

_Face the Show_

Midnight in Las Vegas. Yet the night is still young to a few people. Such people were a young couple, returning from a night on the town. The woman was starting to sober up from the evening's events. But her lover was still drunk and feeling frisky. Hoping to get some, he wrapped his arms around her waist and started nibbling her neck. She pushed him away. "Stop it. You're drunk out of your mind."

He refused to give up. "Come on, baby. Just a little bite for the road."

He kept trying to seduce her and she kept pushing him away. Finally she pushed him enough to knock him down into the brushes in his drunkenness. He laughed and put his hand down on the ground to get up. But he didn't touch dirt. Instead, he touched something that was wet and soft. He looked at his hand and saw blood. His lover looked down and screamed at the sight of a girl's body.

---

Lights from police cars were flashing and a crowd was forming behind the yellow police tape. Sara stepped under the tape to find Grissom already examining the body. Seeing her coming, Grissom said, "Female body. Early to mid twenties. She's wearing a yellow, leather bikini."

The girl was wearing such an outfit. She also had short purple hair with a yellow headband and yellow boots. Sara raised her eyebrow at the outfit. "Stripper, perhaps?"

Grissom just shrugged as he continued to examine the body. Sara looked at her and noticed, "She has a hole in her chest."

The body had a hole that went down to her back. Reaching into the pocket of the yellow leather and pulled out a wallet. She looked into it and found an ID. "Got an ID. Daisy Sanchez. Native."

Just then, David arrived. "Sorry. Traffic was bad."

He made a small cut and checked the temperature of the liver. "Her liver's is 75. She's just getting into algor mortis. She's been dead for about 8 hours."

Sara nodded in understanding. "That would put her time of death at four o'clock in the afternoon."

Grissom took a close look at the injury. "The width of the hole is consistent with a pole."

Sara didn't understand. "How could a pole go through a girl's chest?"

David looked at the hole and then at her outfit. "Hunter spear?"

Grissom and Sara just looked at him.


	2. New leads

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

By Butterfly of Blood

I don't own CSI or any of the anime mentioned in the story. I just own the original characters.

_Face the Show_

A while later, David was gone, having gone back to the morgue to prep the body for Dr. Robbins. Grissom and Sara started to examine the area where the body was found. There was an absent amount of blood and Sara pointed that out. "The dirt isn't as disturbed as it should be."

Grissom understood. "That means she was dumped here."

"She was killed somewhere else. The question is where."

Grissom slightly shook his head. Just then, Greg showed up. "Ugh. Sorry. Traffic was murder."

Grissom stood up. "Since you're here, Greg, I'm going back to the lab to see if I can find anything about Daisy."

Greg nodded as Grissom left. Sara looked up and nodded her hello. "Hey, Greg."

"Hey, Sara. What do you have so far?"

"We had a female body, Daisy Sanchez, who was dumped here."

Greg looked at the ground and noticed, "Got footprints."

He photographed them for future reference. He then noticed something in the bush. He got a pair of tweezers out and pulled off a piece of cream-colored cloth. He then put it in a small envelope to be looked at later.

---

At the morgue, Dr. Robbins was examining Daisy's body with Grissom watching. "Single hole in her chest 3 inches in diameter. The injury went her heart, virtually ripping her heart in half, and stopped just before her spine. She died instantly."

"Anything else unusual?"

"Blood alcohol concentration was .2, twice the legal level. Other than that, I found a unique impression where her injury ended."

He showed a casting of what he found. Grissom looked at it and saw that it had the initials "A.H." that looked like it was craved into whatever killed Daisy. Grissom looked at her head and noticed something. "Is that brown hair under her purple hair?"

Intrigued, Dr. Robbins looked and noticed a lock of brown hair sticking out. He raised her head so that Grissom could investigate. To their surprise, he pulled off the purple hair to show that it was a wig. She actually had long, straight, brown hair. Grissom and Dr. Robbins looked at each other in surprise.

---

Sara was examining Daisy's yellow, leather bikini, trying to find something that would lead her to Daisy's killer. Looking at an angle with a special flashlight, she found a full left handprint on the left side of the top part, right next to the hole. She dusted it and gently lifted it up with tape.

Just then, Greg came in. Sara looked up and asked, "What did you find on that piece of fabric you found?"

Greg said, "It surprised me. Egyptian cotton."

Sara looked up in surprise. "Egyptian cotton? Where can you get that in Vegas?"

Greg just shrugged. "I've been doing some research and have come up with nothing. The victim probably ordered it off the Internet. It's amazing what you can on there nowadays."

Sara agreed. "Well, see if you can find what websites sell that stuff."

Greg was about to leave when he turned around. "I heard the purple hair was a wig."

Sara looked up. "Yeah. Big surprise. I wonder why she would cover that brown hair of hers."

Greg shrugged. "Maybe she was trying to be someone." With that, he left.

---

Grissom was on his way to examine the footprint photo when he noticed a distrait woman talking to a guard. The guard was trying to calm her down. "Ma'am, please calm down and tell me what you need."

The woman refused to calm down. "My daughter's here! I saw her body on the news! I need to see her!"

Grissom took over. "Ma'am, I'm Gil Grissom of the Las Vegas crime lab."

The woman was near hysteric. "I need to see my daughter!"

Grissom took her into an interrogation room and managed to calm her down. "There. Now, Mrs.…?"

The woman took a deep breath, even though she was still crying. "Sanchez. Tina Sanchez."

"Mrs. Sanchez. When was the last time you saw your daughter?"

Tina Sanchez sniffled. "Last week. She left our home in the safe side of Vegas and came here for a week's vacation." She then sighed. "I never should have let her come. She's only 20. This city's dangerous and those people she hangs around with her are even more dangerous."

That caught Grissom's attention. "What people?"

Tina Sanchez looked up. "She made friends at the convention called Anime Vegas. It's for people who like Japanese cartoons and Japanese comics. That's why she came here. I've come with her these past few years and she was always safe. I may not have gone with her to the convention but I was always there to get her when she needed me."

Grissom thought of something he had to know. "Mrs. Sanchez, did she always wear a yellow, leather bikini to the convention?"

Tina Sanchez nodded. "Yes. She even wore that ugly purple wig that hid her beautiful brown hair."

"Did she say why she wore them?"

Tina Sanchez looked away to try to remember. "Daisy told me that a while ago. She said it was her duty as a fan to a Japanese cartoon called 'Cowboy Bebop.' She dressed up as her favorite character, Faye Valentine, and even changed her name to be more like the character. She told everyone there that her name was Faye Sanchez."

Grissom thought of something else. "Mrs. Sanchez, did Daisy have enemies at this convention?"

Tina Sanchez nodded. "She had a few. She told me that but also said not to worry about it. Most of them either didn't like the character or didn't like the show. But…she did talk about one person who didn't like _her_."

"Do you know what this person's name?"

Tina Sanchez shook her head no. "Not even Daisy knew his name. all I know is that he had unusual hair and had seven gold items."

Being suspicious, Grissom asked, "Do you know if one of the items was a pole of some sort?"

Tina Sanchez reacted. "Yes. One was a scepter. Why? Do you think he did it? Do you think he killed my daughter?"

"I don't know. But I will find out. Where is the convention?"


	3. Got him?

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

By Butterfly of Blood

I don't own CSI or any of the anime mentioned in the story. I just own the original characters.

_Face the Show_

Grissom and Sara had just arrived at Anime Vegas. In all their years in their career, they had seen a lot of things from a caress being an anthill to people dressing up like animals. But they didn't expect to see what they saw. At least less than half of the teenagers and adults were dressed normally. They were either walking around being weighed down by shopping bags, taking pictures, looking at the many booths, or sitting in the corner, reading comic books.

But the others were dressed very oddly. They had loud outfits that were not normal according to everyday standards. They were brightly colored, very small, and were accompanied by either painted hair or wigs. Some had cardboard or plastic swords and other bizarre items. A few even had wings on their backs.

Sara looked at all these people and raised her eyebrow. "I've heard of people pretending to be someone else…but this is ridiculous."

Grissom slightly nodded as a brunette wearing a skimpy outfit with three wings on her back walked by her. "Humans sometimes feel stronger when they disguise themselves."

Sara looked as a blond girl with two pigtails and a small red and blue sailor uniform posed for a group of teenagers with cameras. "I suppose. I'm going to go ask around to see if anyone saw anything."

She then went off with Daisy's photo. Grissom looked around at everyone. One guy wearing a tennis outfit and carrying a tennis racket noticed him and came up to him. "Your first convention?"

Grissom looked at the guy. "How could you tell?"

The tennis player slightly shrugged. "You looked a little lost. Plus, you're not in a costume I recognize. Oh, by the way, I'm Ryoma Echizen from 'Prince of Tennis'."

Grissom acknowledged "Ryoma." "I'm Gil Grissom from the Las Vegas Crime Lab."

"Ryoma" reacted. "Oh, you're here about Faye Sanchez."

"How did you know?"

"Those from 'Cowboy Bebop' held a memorial for her. They almost didn't let other people in but they eventually let those who admired her."

Grissom didn't understand. "Why wouldn't they let her in?"

"Ryoma" gave Grissom a look. "They're different. They don't mix."

Grissom remembered something similar to this at the convention for little people. "Discrimination?"

"Ryoma" nodded. "We judge people by two things. First, if they dress up. Then, if they do, we judge them by what anime they dress up as. That way, we can avoid each other. We're like the way people were in the 60s. Having a 'Saikano' person and a 'Wolf's Rain' person together is like seeing a white chick and a black guy in the 60s. It just doesn't happen."

Grissom nodded in understanding. He then asked, "Did 'Faye' have any enemies here that you saw?"

"Ryoma" thought it over. "Yes…Pharaoh. He hates her."

"Where can I find this 'Pharaoh'?"

"Ryoma" just pointed in the direction that Sara went. Grissom started to go off when "Ryoma" said, "Be careful. He has a nasty temper."

Grissom nodded as he continued on his way. He soon found Sara taking to a hot-tempered boy. He was very unusual in his own way. His hair was star shaped with a black center, red tips, and golden lightening-shaped strikes and bangs. He was dressed in a Pharaoh's outfit and had a golden crown on his head with an Egyptian eye in the center of it. He had gloves on that covered just his hands. But the things that stood out the most about him were the seven items that covered his body.

Around his neck were four golden items. They were an upside-down pyramid, a circle with a flat pyramid in the center and five spikes around the circle, an ankh, and a choker. He had an earring that was a golden ball. In his hands were golden scales and a golden scepter with two blade-like things on the side. Each item had an Egyptian eye on the center of it.

Sara was trying to talk to him. "When was the last time you saw Faye?"

"Pharaoh" growled. "I don't know and I don't care! I hated that bitch!"

Grissom came up to them. "Is there a problem here?"

"Pharaoh" gave him a glare. "Yes, sir. This WOMAN keeps asking me ridiculous questions and making me late for the karaoke contest which I'M judging!"

Grissom looked at his scepter. He noticed that the hole in the eye had a drop of blood in it. "How wide is your scepter?"

"Pharaoh" raised his eyebrow. "3 inches. Why?"

Grissom put on some gloves. "May I borrow it for a while?"

"Pharaoh" jerked her arm back. "Why?"

"Just want to see it for a few hours."

"Only if you promise that everyone who touches it wears gloves. I don't need their oily hands ruining my Millennium Rod."

Grissom nodded. "I promise."

"Pharaoh" slightly raised his eyebrow and clicked his tongue. A small brunette dressed in an Egyptian peasant outfit immediately rushed to his side, put on gloves, took the Millennium Rod, and handed it to Grissom, who put it in a bag. "Pharaoh" nodded at the small brunette. "Good, Mana."

"Mana" slightly bowed and went on her way. But before Sara could ask who "Mana" was, "Pharaoh" quickly turned around and hurried off.

---

Greg just ran the drop of blood into the database. He looked at the paper that printed out and grinned. He handed it to Sara. "Blood's a positive match to Daisy's."

Sara looked at the paper and then at Greg. "That was too easy."

Greg grinned. "Some people like it easy."


	4. Elimination

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

By Butterfly of Blood

I don't own CSI or any of the anime mentioned in the story. I just own the original characters.

_Face the Show_

Thanks to the blood drop analysis, Brass brought "Pharaoh" in for questioning. He wasn't too happy about that. "Is this going to take long?"

Brass turned on his charm that he always did in interviews. "Are you in a hurry?"

"Pharaoh" scoffed. "I'm SUPPOSED to be judging the costume party with my girlfriend, who's playing my character's love interest, Anzu."

Brass slightly nodded. "I see. Get used to it. We found a blood drop in your 'Millennium Rod' that was a positive match to Daisy."

"Pharaoh" raised an eyebrow. "Whatever."

Brass then turned his attention to "Pharaoh's" gloves. "Aren't you hot in them?"

"Pharaoh" looked at his gloves. "I suppose. And since my Millennium Items aren't with me, I don't really need them."

He then removed his gloves, revealing feminine hands and fingernails painted lavender. Brass didn't expect this and stared at them with an eyebrow raised. "Pharaoh" saw his looks and hid his hands under the table. Slightly shaking his head, Brass continued the interview. "So what happened, Pharaoh? Faye insult you…or your anime?"

"Pharaoh" rolled his eyes. "Every convention day since she joined two years ago."

"So…she pushed it this time."

"Pharaoh" just nodded. Brass then started to think about what might have happened. "So here's what I think happened. Daisy insulted you on Thursday, the opening day of the convention. Feeling angered, you pull her away and stab her with your scepter. Afterwards you dumped her into the bushes."

"Pharaoh" was growing more angered with each word. When he finished, he slammed his fists into the table and yelled in a _female_ voice, "That's not how it happened!"

Brass didn't react to the voice change for he already knew "Pharaoh's" true form from bringing up "Pharaoh's" file. "Then why don't you tell me what happened…Alexis Hawkins?"

"Pharaoh" looked up and sat down, sighing. He said in a masculine voice, "How did you know?"

Brass chuckled as he opened his file. "It's actually very interesting. Your items gave it away. The Egyptian Eye was the trademark for a stacker that haunted a woman a few years ago. We compared and Sara said that the facial structures were the same."

"Pharaoh" ran his hand through his hair, groaning. He then said in the female voice, "Promise me that everything that you see here doesn't get back to the convention. I have a reputation over there."

Brass nodded and "Pharaoh" took a deep breath. He then took off the wig to reveal shoulder-length curly brown hair with blond highlights. Brass looked at "Pharaoh" and said, "Do you mind if I ask how you portray yourself as a man?"

Alexis Hawkins smirked. "It's easy. I have a talent for changing my voice to whatever I want. It comes in handy for my voice-over jobs. I wear the gloves to hide my colored fingernails. I tape my chest to portray a flat chest. At times, like right now…I even put a sock in between two pairs of underwear."

Brass was surprised by that but had to know something else. "Your 'girlfriend,' is she…just for show?"

Alexis Hawkins shook her head. "No. I'm gay and she's my girlfriend."

Brass acknowledged that. "I see. So what happened between you and Daisy Sanchez?"

Alexis Hawkins' glare narrowed as she started to play with her fingernails. "Daisy and I were in high-school together. She was always better than me in choir, drama, school…ugh, I hated her. I would occasionally get her back by making crank calls and changing my voice to her boyfriend's. When we went our separate ways, I found that I was champion at anime. Come convention time, I ruled that event. But then…that BITCH came back and took my place in two days!"

"You guys ever fight?"

Alexis Hawkins chuckled as she held her head back. "The early afternoon of the first day of this year's convention…I put her in her place."

flashback

_Alexis Hawkins, or "Pharaoh," was getting people signed up for the anime music video contest with "Anzu" when "Faye Sanchez" came over. "Hey, Pharaoh! What are you doing, acting like a slave?"_

"_Pharaoh" glared at her and said in her guy voice, "Unless you're here to sign up for the music video contest…" she looked at "Faye's" outfit, "…or get fashion advice, get lost."_

_The surrounding teens laughed as "Faye" blushed in embarrassment. She then came up with a good comeback. "Well, at least my anime has color, making me look like a goddess, whereas yours makes you look dead."_

_The surrounding teens laughed again. "Pharaoh" gripped her pen even harder. "Anzu" looked at her and asked, "What are you going to do?"_

"_Pharaoh" grinned evilly and looked at "Faye." "By the way, David, I love the way that sex-change operation turned out."_

"_Anzu" covered her mouth in shock but she was trying not to laugh. The teens backed away from "Faye" as she went forward to "Pharaoh." "You…you little…!" "Faye" froze when she looked into "Pharaoh's" eyes. She whispered, "Alexis?"_

"_Pharaoh" continued to write people's names on the list. "Get out of here, transvestite." "Faye" smirked evilly and walked off._

flashback ends

Alexis Hawkins smirked evilly. "That was my finest moment."

Brass was shocked at her being proud for saying that. But he didn't show it. "Because she insulted you…you killed her."

Alexis Hawkins shook her head. "I didn't have my Millennium Rod that whole day. Someone broke into my house and took it before I woke up. But it was there when I came back around 11 at night. Besides…I couldn't have killed her. I was at the contest from three to five. Ask 'Anzu.'"

---

Sara was looking at Alexis Hawkins' Millennium Rod. She first looked at the bottom and saw the initials "A.H." craved into it, like the impression at the end of the hole. She then looked at the rod with a special flashlight. The whole rod lit up from the unseen blood. She dusted for fingerprints and found a handprint encircling the rod. She carefully dusted and lifted it with tape.

She brought the tape with the fingerprint to Grissom. "Got a handprint off the scepter."

Grissom took the tape and compared the two fingerprints. "They match."

He then compared the two to Alexis Hawkins' fingerprint that they got from her file. What he found surprised him. Sara saw his look and asked what was wrong. He answered, "Alexis always wore gloves whenever she had her items, right?"

Sara nodded and then realized, "Those aren't her prints?"

Grissom shook his head. Just then, Greg walked in. "Hey. Alexis' story checked out. She never left the convention. Her girlfriend and many witnesses confirmed that. They also confirmed that she didn't have her scepter with her all day."

Sara shook her head in disbelief. "We just eliminated our only suspect."

Greg then thought of something. "She plays a Pharaoh, right? Maybe she has a servant."

When he left, Sara remembered. She asked Grissom, "You think she ordered her friend?"

Grissom slightly shrugged with his head. "Servants are bound to serve their masters."


	5. Case closed

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

By Butterfly of Blood

I don't own CSI or any of the anime mentioned in the story. I just own the original characters.

_Face the Show_

"Mana" was brought over for questioning. Before she was interviewed, her left hand was handprinted to see if it was her handprint on the bikini and Millennium Rod. Grissom compared hers to the two prints. It was a positive match

---

Sara was interviewing "Mana," who looked really nervous. "Um…can we not take long? 'Pharaoh' will get mad if I'm not there to do his shopping."

Sara didn't like what she heard. "She makes you go shopping?"

"Mana" nodded. "I'm her servant…just like in the anime. At least…that's what he told me."

Sara shook her head. She then noticed that the sleeve of her dress was ripped. "What happened to your dress?"

"Mana" looked at her dress. "I don't know."

"Egyptian cotton, am I right?"

"Mana" just nodded. That's when Sara noticed "Mana's" bruise on the side of her face. "Did Alexis hit you?"

"Mana" quickly covered the bruise with her hand. Just then, Grissom walked in with some papers. Sara and "Mana" looked up at him. He said, "Print was a match to Jenny Thompson."

"Mana," or Jenny Thompson, looked away. Grissom asked, "Mind telling us how your handprint got on Alexis' scepter?"

Jenny Thompson slightly blushed. "I touched it. That's how I got the bruise."

flashback

_Jenny Thompson was at Alexis Hawkins' house. She approached the cabinet that held the Millennium Items. She opened it and picked up the Millennium Rod with her right hand. That's when Alexis Hawkins walked in and saw her. "Jenny, what the hell are you doing?"_

_Jenny jumped and quickly put the Rod back in the cabinet. "Master, I'm so sorry! I forgot the gloves! Please forgive me!"_

_Alexis Hawkins didn't listen. She just went forward and punched Jenny Thompson across the face. "Never touch my things."_

flashback ends

Jenny Thompson looked away. Sara was surprised at this. "She punched you just because she touched her scepter?"

Jenny Thompson slightly shrugged. "A servant should never touch her master's things."

Sara didn't understand. "Servant?"

Jenny Thompson looked up to reveal a few tears. "Yes. I'm her servant. I do everything for her."

Grissom decided to try to trap her. "Jenny…we know you're lying. We think you killed Daisy Sanchez, or 'Faye'…using Alexis' scepter."

flashback

_Jenny Thompson as "Mana" was walking around the convention, holding the Millennium Rod in her right hand, looking for someone. She soon found her. "Faye Sanchez" was surrounded by kids taking pictures of her. "Mana" took a deep breath and called out, "'Faye,' may I talk to you? It's urgent."_

"_Faye" looked at her and slightly shrugged. "I suppose. Where do you want to talk?"_

"_Mana" thought that over. "Let's go out to my car. It's private there."_

"_Faye" raised her eyebrow but agreed. She followed the young brunette out to the car and got in. "What do you need?"_

"_Mana" gripped the Millennium Rod and looked at "Faye." She put her left hand on "Faye's" chest and put the Rod through her chest._

flashback end

Jenny Thompson was starting to cry, getting more scared. Sara said, "What I don't understand is why you killed her. She did nothing to you."

Jenny Thompson looked up and said through sobs, "You have…to do…what your…master…tells you to."

---

Alexis Hawkins, still dressed as "Pharaoh," was back in the interview room but she wasn't that annoyed as before. "You can take all the time you want. I'm in no hurry."

Grissom was interviewing her. "No events you need to cover?"

Alexis Hawkins shook her head. "'Anzu's' covering for me. So what can I do for you?"

"Why did you have Jenny kill Daisy?"

Alexis Hawkins looked surprised. "Jenny killed that bitch…with my Millennium Rod? That's not what it's used for! Besides, I told you. I didn't have it and I was at the music video contest."

"We know that. But we know you planned the murder."

Alexis Hawkins raised her eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Grissom leaned forward on the table. "Your friend, Jenny, told us everything."

Anger taking over, Alexis Hawkins' eyes narrowed into a glare. "That bitch…! I told her to keep quiet!"

Grissom acknowledged that. "Told her to keep quiet about what?"

Alexis Hawkins growled, "The girl is weak. She cracks under pressure."

flashback

_Dressed at "Pharaoh," Alexis Hawkins pulled Jenny Thompson as "Mana" into the bathroom. After acknowledging that there was no one in there with them, "Pharaoh" asked, "You got it, right?"_

"_Mana" nodded and pulled out the Millennium Rod. "Now can I have some gloves or something?"_

"_Pharaoh" just smirked evilly and said, "Don't worry about it. Also, if you get caught, don't say a word about me"_

_Later on, "Mana" killed "Faye" in the car, drove off, and dumped her. When she returned, she found "Pharaoh" and nodded. "Pharaoh" smiled evilly._

flashback ends

Alexis Hawkins smirked evilly. "The bitch had it coming. Diss me and my anime, the ruler will kill you."

Grissom had what he wanted. "But why Jenny? Why not do it yourself?"

Alexis Hawkins looked Grissom square in the eye. "Servants listen to their masters…and will die for them. I was hoping for that."

"You set her up."

Alexis Hawkins smirked evilly and said in her masculine voice, "A Pharaoh is king…and kings do whatever they want to themselves…to their enemies…and to their servants."


End file.
